Dasuki's Payments Were Compensation for Boko Haram Attack, 12 Affected Newspapers

Nduka Obaigbena has shared his account of the funds he received from the embattled Sambo Dasuki who is recently entangled in a $2.1 billion arms deal scam.

Nduka Obaigbena

Nduka Obaigbena, Editor-in-chief and chairman of THISDAY, says the N550 million payments he received from Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), were compensation for the Boko Haram attack on the Abuja office of the newspaper on April 26, 2012, according to The Cable.

He also said that the additional N130 million was compensation for 12 newspapers whose circulation was disrupted in June 2014 by soldiers who said they were acting on intelligence that Boko Haram wanted to transport explosive materials under the guise of media vehicles.

The owner of THISDAY newspapers had been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain the circumstances surrounding the payments made to his company.

Obaigbena had written to former President Goodluck Jonathan on July 26, 2012, seeking compensation for the Boko Haram attack which left four persons dead and destroyed properties estimated by THISDAY to be N2.4 billion. He also asked for extra provision of security to protect lives and property at the office.

Also in June 2014 when soldiers disrupted the circulation of newspapers in controversial circumstances, Obaigbena, who is the president of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), sought compensation for the affected papers “for the brutal and unlawful seizure”.

See scanned copies of the letters:

Dasuki's Payments Were Compensation for Boko Haram Attack, 12 Affected Newspapers - Obaigbena (See Written Letters)